new word today on the status of former south african leader nelson mandela and new ad that uses ronald reagan in a way that's causing controversy. the fate of amanda knox, we can learn when her new murder trial starts in italy. the real question, will she be forced to return? great to have you here today. this is "weekends with alex witt". we have those stories in the next hour. north korea announcing it entered a state of war with south korea. kim jong-un required rockets are ready to be fired at seoul and american bases. they revealed two nuclear capable b-2 stealth bombers. ian is covering the situation from the south. >> reporter: officials in seoul dismissed the latest outburst of

more of the same. it followed a massive rally in the northern capital friday where tens and thousands came out in support of kim jong-un's charge, shouting death to the u.s. imperialists. >> escalating military confrontations would lead to further isolation. here's nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. >> he has 8,000 troops poised 40 miles from seoul and the big worry is there could be a mistake. a miscal lags by the north would force the first woman president to retaliate. she has very little flexibility and that would instantly bring the united states into this conflict. >> earlier today north korea threatened to close the industrial complex but that site does remain open. hundreds of south koreans travel

there daily. they consider the status of the the best signal of the intentions of the north. former new mexico governor, bill richardson who served as u.s. ambassador to the united nations and made a trip to north korea. as we have a chance to talk now based on this new statement from the north, simply put, how close are we to seeing some type of violent escalation? >> well, the danger is some kind of escalation. the worry i have is a skirmish, military skirmish in the yellow sea. that's the area naval skirmish that this has happened before. what is happening now with the north koreans is every few years they test the new south korean leader. and i think they are testing her, testing this new president and basically taking steps that would mean that she may have to retaliate. >> sir, isn't this -- >> what i hope, tom --

>> sir, isn't this also a test for kim jong-un to demonstrate some type of military prowess where know he is untested in his leadership? >> yes, the worry i have that he -- to his generals, to his military, to the hard liners in his military that want isolation or some type of confrontation. members of his family that are anti-engaging, that's the worry i have, his youth and inexperience. he hasn't served in the military. to trot him out there with the military saying we're going to continue this very hard line policy is worry some. i've never seen the heightened tension, i've been working with

them and unofficial official envoy, i've never seen them so consistently rhetorically and actionwise so negative. >> so based on the aggression that we're seeing right now, what do you think the red line is for the u.s.? >> well, the u.s. has taken the right step. i think you want to go ahead with those b-2 stealth bombers and use the expression, let them know we're around. it's a message to north korea that, look, your rhetoric is out of hand but also to our allies in south korea and japan that we're ready to defend them. i think the next step has to be you've got to have some cool heads prevail now. the sanctions have happened at the united nations and the military exercises have happened. i think thomas, the next step has to be diplomacy. china has to really weigh in and say to north korea, look, you can't continue doing this. they have leverage over north

korea -- >> do you think the countries involved, that they have the influence necessary? >> well, yeah, they have the influence, but i don't know if they want to exercise it. that's the issue. they provide a lot of food to north korea and a lot of energy, fuel. a lot of investments there. military equipment, so they have the leverage but they've been unwilling to use it. they did help the united states and others draft the security council resolution, which added the new sanctions after the nuclear test. so a lot of things have to happen but the key, thomas is diplomacy, the united states, south korea, japan, the six party countries, some kind of way to open up a dialogue because you can't continue with this tinder box sense of tension in the peninsula where the north and south could fire at each other in the yellow sea and that brings in the major powers, us

in because of the treaty relationship with japan and south korea. >> "the new york times" goes on to say the obama administration considers these threats blusterring and more worried about the things the north korean regime does not admit to, the recent cyber attack on the south, torpedo attack three years ago. as i mentioned, you had the recent trip yourself to north korea. from that experience several months ago, what's your take or -- about the ramping up to where we are today, the seriousness of what we are seeing today? >> well, when i went there, thomas in january, the north koreans were very angry about the sanctions that they were about to get. they did tell us that this was not the right course to go. i said to them, look, if you have underground nuclear blasts, you launch all of these missiles and threaten everybody, there's got to be a response. what you need to do is cool down, work on the economy, find

ways to help your own people and start negotiating process with the six-party countries, with south korea and with the u.s. the situation leadershipwise there is uncertain. we don't know if the hard liners have gotten ahold of kim jong-un and said, you've got to show your toughness internationally. but also, because you're so young and you're inexperienced, you've got to buttress your political base in north korea. my sense was he was popular, they don't have elections, the medias control. i think there's something going on there that no matter in the obama administration, i think they've done the right thing. i'm not an insider with them, i don't know what they are thinking. but i would look at diplomacy as the next step after things cool

down. >> bill richardson, thanks for coming on. i appreciate it. >> thank you, tom. >> >> to south africa for the latest on nelson mandela's condition, the former south africa president is in the hospital with a lung infection. keir, what are we hearing about the condition of nelson mandela? first it was dire and now things seemed to have improved? >> reporter: they really do, good afternoon. he is making steady progress and comfortable and able to breathe without difficulty and that is important what we learned today is that late wednesday when he was rushed from his home here in johannesburg to the hospital, doctors administered a drain from the fluid around his lungs caused by the pneumonia from which he is suffering. he is now they say making improvements but everything they say is carefully worded because of the importance of nelson mandela to this country. while we've been here in the rain we've been watching parents

bring their children to the outside of the home, signing and leaving messages on stones outside. so south africans young and old are watching closely to see how nelson mandela is doing. >> one other thing is the family and how collectively they are gathering around nelson mandela or any insight into his condition, correct? >> yeah, that's right. close family have been at his bedside. his grandson saying he is sitting up and talking. meanwhile, his former wife winnie, confirming that he is doing well and also thanking president obama for his message of support. she said, the support was important to them and described it as an inspiration and real support for them at a difficult time. >> keir simmons, thank you. today health officials back at home in tulsa began testing thousands of dental patients for hiv and hepatitis. their dentist is accused of

health and safety violations, including rusty equipment and refusing needles and drug vials. the dentist surrendered his license now cooperating with state health authorities there. 35 educators are facing charges in a major cheating scandal in atlanta. they were indicted yesterday and this scandal was in the nation's history. among those indicted is beverly hall, the former school's superintendent. a state investigation began in 2009 after the atlanta general constitution found steep inexplicable rises in test scores. we shift gears to talk about the weather. a taste of spring is here in new york city. for the rest of the country we check in with nbc meteorology dylan dreyer. >> the northwest is seeing well above average temperature and

northeast seeing near average temperatures. it took a while but it's finally here. it's already 51 in new york city and 49 in seattle. we have some rain in the middle of the country that will keep things cooler out that way. look at the high temperatures, not too bad, mid to upper 50s but out in the northwest, that's where temperatures will be about 15 to almost 20 degrees above average. we should even top out in the mid 90s in parts of oregon. i have a lot of family out there so i'm jealous of the temperatures they are enjoying. for easter sunday it looks just as warm. we'll see rain more into wisconsin and the biggest threat will be for hail down through the tennessee river valley into the gulf coast today and eventually tomorrow as well. today we are going to see light rain around wisconsin and heavier rain through tennessee and oklahoma and parts of arkansas of the then for easter sunday, we're going to see that rain try to move eastward but it doesn't get here until after easter dinner. the morning time looks fine for the outdoor easter egg hunts in the southeast we'll see heavier

thunderstorms later on in the day. so for the most part things are actually looking okay considering how cool it's been. >> so go to church early then easter egg hunt, then get in before the rain comes. >> you mapped out the whole day. >> that's how i'll do my sunday. >> we'll have west coast headlines and dramatic news for struggling fisherman. could italy extradite amman do knox? this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ at a hertz expressrent kiosk, you can rent a car without a reservation... and without a line.

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so president obama heads to denver next weekend, a renewed push for fresh gun control legislation, the move comes as supports from gun laws appears to wain. an idea the president is disputing. >> the notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in newtown happens, and we moved on

to other things? that's not who we are. that's not who we are. i want to make sure every american is listening today. less than 100 days ago that happened. and the entire country was shocked. >> joining me right now is senator richard blumen thal of connecticut. as we talk about this and where the appetite remains in the country for gun violence legislation, first off this week, we got new information about the fire power that was used by the newtown killer, some of the arsenal that was amassed in the home there. what was your initial reaction to that information and do you think that that might provide political momentum? basically exposing the ease and

fascination americans can amass personal arsenals. >> i went to the sandy hook fire house within hours of that horrific horrible tragedy and saw the sights and sounds of parents who learned for first time that their beautiful children, 20 of them, would not be coming home that evening and six brave educators killed. what i learned from those affidavits was more of that same horror. 154 rounds fired in five minutes or less because that shooter literally had a war arsenal in his home. more than 1,000 bullets. low capacity and high capacity magazine. by the way, he left the low capacity magazines at home and magazines that carry 30 rounds. so the lesson here is that this

very disturbed, eventually deranged person had access to arms ammunition and weapons of war. that has to be stopped. what we learned this week gave renewed impetus and momentum to this fight. i don't see the connecticut affect going away. the nra says they hope it goes away. >> certainly what we learned from the information that's coming out is that the shooter wanted to elicit as much damage in the shortest amount of time possible to be able to kill as many people and children as possible. and ruth marcus of the "washington post" had this column, this week she wrote, there comes a point where advocates have to stop letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. the cal can you husband is different. you have to let the adequate be the enemy of the incremental but significant. essentially she is saying that

the assault weapons ban as we see it now has no chance. the only measure that could pass the senate is potentially the background checks. in getting that done, is there still the opportunity there to get that done and if so, how soon? >> there's the opportunity to achieve all of these common sense measures, strong bipartisan support for a ban on illegal trafficking and straw purchases which put weapons on the streets of hartford and new york, and school safety measures and mental health initiatives. and the national background check, universal background check proposal, i believe will come together in a bipartisan compromise. but there's strong overwhelming support for it, 80 to 90% depending on which poll you choose. i'm unwilling to concede that an assault weapons ban and prohibit gs on high capacity magazines have no chance of passing.

we're going to have a vote. i'm going to help lead the effort on assault weapons and i will spearhead the effort on high capacity magazines, which were so critical to the ability of adam lanza o to fire 154 rounds in less than five minutes or five minutes. that is really a crux of this debate. can we achieve common sense measures? and i believe that the good will be achieved and the perfect will not be -- >> you talk about the public appetite and the fact there are large percentages of americans want to see something done, their elected leaders in the republican party aren't listening because they fear they could lose jobs coming up in an election. we have rand paul the other night expressing once again his determination to filibuster any gun legislation. take a listen. >> we plan on making them have at least 60 votes to pass any

legislation that may abridge the second amendment. we'll fight tooth and nail and use every parliamentary procedure to stop that from happening. >> we will filibuster the bill. >> are there -- we've got the four other senators determined to filibuster as well, senator. but he's saying basically that we have a second right amount to the type of weapons that were used in newtown. is that the biggest obstacle, describing to people that we don't have a second amendment right to that type of weaponry, those type of war weapons and extended magazine clips in self-defense? >> well, you raised a very good point, thomas. we have a second amendment right, all of us in this country. and it's a right for every individual to possess firearms but it is subject to reasonable regulation. not every american has the right. no americans have the right to possess the kinds of weapons that are regarded as excessively

dangerous, such as manage guns. and that reasonable regulation has been upheld by the heller case, the supreme court's most recent pronouncement on this issue. the question here is whether the silent majority of americans and unfortunately they've been silent for a long time, can break the stranglehold that special interests have maintained over action. for first time in a decade, maybe a generation, we have an opportunity to seize the moment, to organize and galvanize the majority so we achieve common sense common ground measures which should be bipartisan. there's nothing partisan about public safety when it comes to police or law enforcement. i've done it for several decades now and that's why law enforcement is so strongly behind these common sense measures. >> sir, thanks for coming on today. i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> so in comes sizzle, while soda has fallen flat.

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the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. talk to your doctor about toviaz. a spokesman -- spokesman review in spokane has this story, war costs will be felt for decades, a new analysis show the wars in iraq and afghanistan will cost between 4 and $6 trillion. the san francisco chronicle has this headline, big numbers of fish return to west coast. the report says once devastated fish stock seem to be growing rapidly off california's coast. this is welcome news to the state's long beleaguered commercial fishing industry. to politics now where lawmakers in congress are enjoying two weeks off. when they return to washington, they'll have big issues to tackle with bills expect d to introduced for gun control and

immigration reform. lauren fox and david nakamura for the "washington post." i want to start with you, it was 32 years ago today that ronald reagan almost lost his life. using that as an argument for gun control now. what's their play? >> the united network of rational americans released an ad trumpeting ronald reagan support of background checks. this is something steeped in controversy in the senate. when they return back they are going to take up the vote, only there are a lot of republicans who have said they are going to filibuster this effort and don't support this effort and worried about the record keeping involved. what they did here is used ronald reagan supported background checks. he often said if background checks were in place before his assassination attempt, maybe it would never have happened.

trying to put this republican giant out in the open and saying, you know, here he is, he supported this and you should too. that's their play. >> let's go ahead and show everybody part of the ad. take a look. >> 32 years ago this week, armed secret service agents couldn't protect ronald reagan from being shot by a disturbed man with a gun. president reagan believed something could have prevented the attack. ten years later he wrote the assassination attempt may never happened if a bill requiring background checks had been law in 1981. tell the republicans to join president reagan in enforcing tough enforceable background checks. >> is this going to work or back fire? republicans say this is politicizing a tragedy. we remind everybody that george h.w. bush resigned from the nra because of problems he had with wayne lapierre. how do you think that will play

out? >> i think it's maybe a powerful image to have that on an advertisement, both sides feel for what happened to president reagan. at the same time i don't think it's going to make much offen impact in this debate. i think the democrats are well aware they are not going to get an assault rifle ban and ban on magazine clips, even the background checks getting harder and harder and public supports and public opinion polls show that the public sort of immediacy for new gun laws started to wain since the newtown shooting. president obama going to denver to make the case again about guns. a lot of the momentum is gone and senators are concerned their nra score. i think even with ronald reagan in an ad it's not going to be easy to change that opinion. >> let's shift to the other topic that might be easier for bipartisan support and that is immigration reform.

david, in one of your articles, it looked like we were stalled out over the last week but yesterday afternoon word had started to surface that lobbyists from business and labor unions were making head way, a deal might be within reach. what changed? >> this is a my indicated issue, about a new guest worker program where a business wants the ability to hire foreign workers in the future for temporary stays to work as low wage workers in as waiters and things like that. they were concerned that could drag down wages for americans. both sides have said in the past they are coming close to a deal and that's blown up over various issues. they returned to the bargaining table again this week and made progress on wages and afl-cio said they went up a bit still issues related to construction workers banned from hiring foreign workers, there's still a few things to be worked out. the senators and the senator staff we talked to yesterday said they expect a deal to be

done on this point this coming week and that could clear the way for them to unveil the bill in early april. >> let's not be too cynical. how many of immigration reform and topic of it is political expediency for the republicans? >> when the president won 70% of the latino vote, i think you also have to look at the group of bipartisan senators working in the senate. some of them have been working on this issue a long time like senator john mccain and marco rubio cared deeply about immigration reform for a long time. i think you have to realize that some of these new stances may be a push to get these latino voters on board with them. i don't necessarily think this is just a political play. i think this is something that's been in the works for a long time. the election gave them an opportunity to move ahead faster than they would have. >> we'll see what the spring provides, great to see you both.

>> the new legal battle for amanda knox, will she be forced to go back to italy? ♪ [ construction sounds ] ♪ [ watch ticking ] [ engine revs ] come in. ♪ got the coffee. that was fast. we're outta here. ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪

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[ female announcer ] cascade's best is new cascade platinum. welcome back, alex has the day off. i'm thomas roberts. it's time forehead lines just past the half hour. construction debris from the world trade center site will be sifted for human remains. 60 truck loads of construction debris from the site is going to be examined. city officials say dna testing will continue until every possible i.d. can be made. the epa is proposing new fuel standards part of an effort to make gas cleaner and air safer. it will raise gas prices but exactly how much is up for debate. if approved, it won't go into effect until 2017. a south carolina woman who tried to discipline her child at school is charged with assault and battery after allegedly slapping the wrong child. she went to pick up her son who had been suspended and saw a boy in the front office with his

head down and thought it was her son so she slapped him. instead it was a student waiting to be picked up from school because he was sick. the woman found her son in the office and then also hit him too. now to the white house in reaction to alarming and new threats by north korea. after weeks of nuclear tests and threats to the u.s. and south korea, the north is saying it entered into a quote state of war against south korea. nbc's kristen welker, explain the white house and how its approach to this and taking these threats very seriously, especially when we consider we have a new defense secretary in chuck hagel. >> reporter: white house officials taking this latest provocation very seriously. they are concerned and chuck hagel expressing his concern. at the same time they are trying to reassure their allies in the region. caitlin hayden releasing this statement. we've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from north korea. we take these threats seriously

and remain in close contact with our south korean allies but would also note north korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and this follows that familiar pattern. trying to reassure the allies in the region. the latest provocation comes on the heels of a number of provocations, including a number of nuclear tests from north korea. they fired a rocket last december and of course called an end to the 1953 armistice with south korea. chuck hagel and president obama watching this situation quite closely, top u.s. officials are in close contact with their counterparts in the region because this is a very fragile situation. of course, one of the greatest concerns, there's not a whole lot known about kim jong-un, that is the relatively new leader of north korea. he is a young man and in his late 20s when he took over power in december of 2011. not a whole lot known about him

now except that he seems to be quite bellicose and perhaps even more so than his father. a lot of concern as u.s. officials watch this situation unfold. >> kristen, thank you. >> also overseas today, can amanda knox be forced to return to italy? the highest court has ordered a retrial in the same murder case that the 25-year-old seattle woman and her exboy-friend were acquitted of 18 months ago. >> joining me now criminal defense attorney keith sullivan and defense attorney and former prosecutor karen desoto. let me start with you, keith, as we all remember, amanda knox was cleared of this after spending four years in jail but cleared in 2011. this is a big surprise. why is it happening? >> it's one of the great and fascinating things about the case, the great divide between the american and italian system. in italy these go up on appeal automatically and in united states we have a 5% change.

in italy you're not convicted until it goes up to appeal and 95% chance of that decision from a trial court being charged. she was convicted at the trial court level and it went up on appeal. they overturned that conviction and the family, the victim's family petitioned the highest court in italy to look at it which they did and overturned the appellate court. they sent it back for a retrial. >> careen, this shouldn't be a surprise to amanda knox and her family since getting to know the italian system so well. for us in america, does this put the italian criminal system on trial? >> when we started to use dna evidence in the mid-1990s, we had a lot of reversals and overturns based on dna not being stored correctly. i don't see how you can put the italian system for what we have been accused of with our dna testing. in this case, it's a surprise for everybody because the 100-page report from the

appellate below was very thorough. it is surprising to everyone that it did in fact get overturned. >> the obvious question on everybody's mind is the u.s. double jeopardy law, the fact you can't be tried twice for the same crime. what type of new evidence or what would they need to go through. it's pretty standard for this to happen. it seems as if the hon us is on the italian system to go on this once again to prove her guilt. >> double jeopardy wouldn't apply in this case. double jeopardy applies if there's an acquittal, a finding of not guilty. you had a guilty verdict at the appellate court and they overturned it. they are saying go back and look at this all again. double jeopardy is out of question. >> is there new evidence, anything new they've been able to find that would lend itself to a better case this time for the prosecution? >> well, there's always information that wasn't used at trial, however, when you're going into this new trial, remember that the dna is now

also been questioned the appellate division has set that it's useless so now they are going to be going to trial with a lot less evidence and that begs the question, why go through this? does italy have enough evidence to in fact go forward? >> i think a lot of people when they hear about this think amanda, don't go. don't go back to italy and put yourself through this. but keith, we have an extradition treaty with italy. does that mean for amanda knox having to go back? >> she doesn't have to be there for the retrial at the appellate level. if she's found guilty or innocent and that goes back up on appeal and ultimately the highest court finds the conviction should be instated and therefore that not -- guilty verdict reinstated, they will issue a request to have her extradited back. it will take about 6 to 12 months. united states has a treaty and i'm quite certain they will execute it. >> this isn't far from over and also as we were talking about

briefly before, the boyfriend in all of this, he lives there and also facing this once again. extradition is not an issue for him unless he tries to flee. >> exactly. listen, both of them have decisions to make and sit down with their attorneys. it's very difficult. this is the point where your client calls you and says, which countries don't have extradition? so you know these are very tough times. think about going back into italian prison after you've been there for so long. there's a lot of things that start racing through your mind. i don't feel, you know, i feel bad for families of amanda knox and all of the people involved because this is going to be very trauma mattic for both families. >> karen desoto and keith sullivan, thank you so much. two controversial comments from two different political figures, both people are walking back those remarks. that's coming your way in strategy talk. we're dedicated to getting you back on track from identity theft. to protect you from being a victim in the first place,

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now our three big money headlines, income sizzles and soda fizzles and coupon cutoff. joining me this afternoon -- morning if you're on the west coast. it's different when it's around noontime and you forget it's west coast time and still morning. there is a positive trend being demonstrated. >> consumer spending is up .7% and the reason why because income is up 1.1%. everyone is spending more. that's coming as a surprise because as you remember -- >> the tax rates -- >> exactly, we thought we would have to spend more or get lesson our income statements, therefore thought we would have to spend more. but that's not the case. it's actually business is booming and people are having incomes actually even more because people -- businesses are doing so well. the stock market is doing extremely well so people are feeling better about that. of course, we can't forget about the housing markets.

people are feeling more settled. >> the ship is righting itself? >> exactly. >> one thing when we look at soda sales over the last five to eight years, i believe the trend is on the decline. so mayor bloomberg might have been on something with his big gul p bust. >> if he started a couple of years ago, exactly. it has been the lowest since clinton was in office. it's down about 1.1%. soda consumption. part of the reason why because everyone is turning to those energy drinks and bottled water to quench their thirst, monster energy drinks, that volume is up 19%. now you're seeing soda manufacturers like pepsi, go to the aid of celebrities, they did this deal with beyonce for $50 million and diet coke now having marc jacobs as the creative director. >> to see if they can get people buying more soda. let's talk about coupons, they

are down? >> down 14% according to this report. it's really because it's rehard to redeem now. people are on the shift not using them as much. >> you would think because we have popular reality tv shows and couponing has never been more chic. >> who wants five gallons of many tubs of milk and detergent. >> for my new york city apartment, i would. >> it's an art piece, everyone. >> who doesn't love a good deal? great to see you, thanks so much. working 9:00 to 5:00 is taking center stage in today's list of number ones. >> chasing me around the desk because i need this job but this is the last straw. >> one of my favorite movies ever, dolly give teenaging to h there. today's improving job market, chances of finding a job are a

lot better, especially in the state of texas leading the way in job growth for the month of feb. gaining nearly 400,000 jobs. san jose california and portland, maine, tie for the top spot on the new "forbes" list. both are expected to see a 23% increase in employment. amazon is the company with the most openings for jobs that pay at least $60,000 a year. a study by forbes and indeed.com shows that amazon has a little more than 2400 available job openings. software maker oracle has 2450 openings and microsoft with 2100 high paying jobs. as you can see there, tech skills are in high demand. >> i've got to get out of here. i think i'm going to lose it. >> sounds like somebody has a case of the munders. >> a clip from "office space" and the city most optimistic about the job market, a new poll

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back pedaling in two cases making national headlines. ben carson and long time republican congressman don young spending the weekend backtracking and taking back comments they made this week. here's what they originally said. >> no group, be they gays, be they nam bla or people who believe in beastalty, they don't get to change the definition, it's not something that's against gays. >> we used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks and pick tomatoes. it's all done by machine now. >> everybody is really concerned when it comes to talk about marriage equality and

immigration reform. republican strategist joe watkins, former aide to george h.w. bush and ed rendell. what were they thinking? >> boy, thomas, there's really no place in public life for that kind of dialogue. he's a smart guy, been a super successful neurosurgeon and star in the party but he's got to choose his words carefully and use the same kind of precision with his dialogue as he uses with his scalpel. as for don young, that word shouldn't exist in his vocabulary and he waited too long to apologize. there's no excuse for that kind of talk or words. you don't hurt people and you treat people the way you would want to be treated. >> why do we care with dr. carson says. he doesn't have ambition for a political career, at least the last time i saw him talk about a political career, he says he

doesn't want one, more interested in a tv show. is he just a black sarah palin basically, a fire thrower? >> i think he's somebody who has indicated that he could be a candidate for the presidency and certainly that's why people are watching. he took time to go to cpac, an important indicator whether you're serious, to deliver a major speech. he's someone people are listening to and watching closely. he could be a political candidate going forward but he's got to choose his words carefully, the only way the republican party is successful or viable as a party in 2014 and 2016, create a bigger tent and to have room for everybody, for people who may not agree fiscally but may not agree on social ish yus but still stand side by side with republicans. >> let me ask you about that. do you see ben carson as a contender in 2016? he did speak with andrea mitchell yesterday and tried to walk back the comment he had

made on fox news comparing marriage equality to pedophilia and beastialty. >> if the republican party puts out people, whether it's a congressman elected official or someone just a potential elected official in the future, they've got to be very, very careful because they got killed by gay and lesbian voters and got destroyed by hispanic voters. and you can reince priebus can do all the research he wants but if republicans keep making statements like this that indicate a total lack of sensitivity, all of the studies in the world and repackaging isn't going to do the thing. >> isn't that the same for don young, as they trying to would latinos for him to go on the air and use the wetback ethnic slur

that has certainly -- he knows better, in 2013 how that is referenced in today's lexi con did. >> don young is a leader and chairman in the republican party congress and uses a term like wetback. you said the magic words, what was he thinking? the problem is there's no sensitivity towards gays and lesbians and no sensitivity towards hispanics in the republican party itself. obviously there's some republicans who do show it shows a perfect example. but as long as they get high ranking people like that, visible people making statements like that, why if you were hispanic even think about voting republican? >> what comes first, the party problem or individual problem of people like carson and young? is it the chicken and egg, which came first? >> i think the party has to work hard to fix its image and

outreach. it has to be a substantive outreach and that is clearly more inclusive. governor rendell has it right. we got killed in 2012 because of our inability to reach hispanics and reach women and gays and others and the only way to be viable in national elections and presidential elections is to reach out and include people that haven't been included in the past as part of the big tent. and republicans have to do that in a substantive way and individuals in the party, especially leadership has to be very conscious of this and work harder to do better. >> joe watkins and ed rendell. >> thank you, happy easter. >> the hiv testing for thousands of dental patients in the midwest. yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one.

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so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. do not drive, operate machinery or do unsafe tasks until you know how toviaz affects you. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. talk to your doctor about toviaz. up next, north korea in a state of war, is it just bluster or reason for worry? the cost of war, a startling

estimate on what wars in iraq and afghanistan will ultimately be for the u.s. fear factor, testing the thousands of patients of a dirty dentist now begins. great to have you with me. welcome to "weekends with alex witt." i'm thomas roberts. we get straight to what's happening for you. today's declaration by north korea is the latest in a series of threats and missile strikes against south korea and the u.s. ian williams has the latest on the new threats good day. >> reporter: officials here in seoul have dismissed the latest outburst as more of the same it follows days of escalating rhetoric culminating in a rally in the northern capital in support of the call to arms. tens of thousands turned out in north korea's capital chanting death to the u.s. imperialists. kim jong-un presided over what

was called an urgent meeting with military officials and called thursday's u.s. show of force reckless. said the time had come to quote, settle accounts with the u.s. state television reported that kim had ordered his forces on stand by to strike the u.s., south korea, guam and hawaii. in one photo targets appear to include austin, texas. experts doubt he has the ability to hit the u.s. but they fear a provocation here in the yellow sea disputed waters where south korean ferries skirt around north korean territory. the high laisland is home to 5, civilians and many soldiers and sits 5,000 from the border. kim john unpeering at this island through binoculars -- >> he was on that island. does that worry you?

>> reporter: he has heard the threats before and never like this. the island is a fortress lined with fencing and mine fields. it stretches down the coast here, 30-foot wide wall and on top layers of razor wire. locals say the army is tense and network of underground bombshell ters is being made ready. these are all over freshly stocked with supplies. most islanders seem determined to stay while keeping a nervous eye on the neighbors to the north. it's places like that in the yellow sea which are most vulnerab vulnerable. the danger is a local skirmish or miscalculation could quickly escalate. >> earlier in the show i had a chance to speak to former a.m. bass dore richardson about kim

jong-un's motivation for the threats. >> the worry i have is is he's showing off to the hard liners in the military that wasn't isolation and want a confrontation. members of his family thatanti-. his youth and inexperience, hasn't served in the military. to trot him out there with the military saying we're going to continue this very hard line policy is worrysome. >> richardson went on to say in all years working with north korea never seen such heightened tensions. in south decr -- the white hous says, we've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from north korea. we take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our south korean allies but we would also note that north korea

has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today's announcement follows that familiar pattern. joining me now for more, we've got anna palmer and perry bacon, a contributor and political editor for the grio. i want to start with the big story with north korea and the new threats against the south and u.s. give us a read on how concerned the administration truly is about this, especially the rhetoric coming from the untested leader of kim jong-un? >> i think they are taking it very seriously. you've seen in the statement you read there they are watching it very closely. he's an untested leader. while this is a history and pattern, this is certainly untested waters and "new york times" is reporting today that they are even threatening to close down one of the plants on the border that south and north korea worked to for a long time. >> you talk about that plant and

that would be an indication of the people in the south about what's taking place. we have the defense secretary chuck hagel having this to say about north korea. >> only need to be wrong once. and i don't know what president or what chairman or what secretary of defense wants to be wrong once when it comes to nuclear threats. >> certainly putting himself in there with the president and other defense secretaries like himself now, perry. obviously very cautious and doesn't want to overestimate or underestimate the read from the north. >> these threats by north korea have been made in the past and before. but the u.s. has to consider them seriously every time. the second element, the new york times reported that north korea is doing more in terms of cyber attacks as well and that's something the u.s. is very concerned about not only with north korea but also with china. something president obama talked about. the new concern along with additional concerns about nuclear weapons as well. let's go from the macro view of

g geo political politics. we've seen him speak with impassioned control about what's taking place concerning violent gun crimes in the country surrounded by parents who have lost kids this week at the white house talking about shame on all of us if we've lost the momentum to do something legislatively. and dana milbank had this to say. obama made an impassioned plea for gun control legislation but it's difficult to see that the actions may have come too late. the larger and extended magazine clips, do you think that would have happened regardless of say the president taking his eye off the ball of stricter gun regulation? >> i think it's actually a reality of what the senate is comprised of in terms of where they can go. the nra has a huge amount of

power and while the president is going to continue to stump for the bigger and more expansive measures, what you're really going to see now is push forward with the bill and they are going to be lucky if they can get that across the finish line, even with expanded background checks. >> is it fair, perry, to make that observation that the president took his eye off the ball for gun control? we have other groups that have taken up the effort, bloomberg's mayors for gun control and controlling gun violence, is that a fair observation, that the president took his eye off potential legislation because of the sequestration issues? >> i don't think he took his eye off the ball. you've seen him push hard on background checks and it's pretty hard to rush through things through congress. you know how long it took the health care bill to pass. things can't pass often in a

month and a half. the one thing we should know, the bloomberg ad seemed not to have worked to sway the conservative senators. you've seen heidi in north dakota and mark pryor in arkansas, two not behind background checks so far say i don't care what michael bloomberg thifrpgz i'm going to vote the way i feel. i'm not sure bloomberg helped the cause at all or obama's speech. michael bloomberg and barack obama not popular with the constituents that the senators have to appeal to. >> they think the bill city mayor muscling in trying to influence. let's shift gears and talk about immigration reform, another hot topic and new reports, anna, suggest there will be a deal very soon when it comes to immigration reform in this country. explain what perimeters we understand that deal could look like.

>> there's going to be several planks, one of big issues, i was down in arizona with a bipartisan group of senators earlier this week when they were talking about it and border security will be a major issue. one of the things holding it up is this low skilled future workers, a fight between business and the unions over how this should be constructed and it appears from sources we've talked to that things are very close and they are literally waiting for the signoff from the gang of eight for this to go forward. >> let's talk about that real quickly. it was very interesting as you bring up the trip to arizona mid week. we get a tweet from john mccain, just witnessed a woman climb a 18-foot border fence a few yards from us. the takeaway beyond perry, that the border fence is climbable is what for the immigration --? >> what they are trying to say, assu schumer and mccain, we're doing well but we need to do better on

border security. that is to the house republicans, we have the same concern as of about border security and we'll make sure to do that along with the path to citizenship. they know the real audience is the house republicans who have been relekt ant to back any any legislation and the border is the most important things the house republican and mccain and schumer as well and gang of eight are trying to build on the conservative side of the issue. >> great to see you both. thank you. >> thanks so much. >> time for your fast five headlines, prosecutors in maine will seek a 10-month prison sentence for a zumba instructor who used her front for prostitution. 20 counts of engaging in prostitution and conspiracy. police in southeast tennessee are looking for a pilot who was thrown from an experimental plane he was learning to fly. he reportedly was not wearing a seat belt when the plane's canopy opened and he was ejected from the plane. his instructor was able to fly

the plane to safety. the area near a landslide near whidbey island as they continue to determine the stability of the line. more than a dozen homes remain inaccessible. israeli police using stun grenades against palestinian protesters who are throwing rocks. the demonstrators took to the streets to mark an annual day of protest against israeli land policies, no report of serious injury. in cyprus, the new york times saying the new bailout could cost wealthy depositors more than three quarters of their savings and those are the fast five headlines. jim carey firing back at critics who dont like his charlton heston funny or die spoof. smile. like other precious things that start off white, it yellows over time. fact is, when it comes to your smile, if you're not whitening, you're yellowing.

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♪ the angels wouldn't take him up to heaven as he planned ♪ >> what did he say? >> that's jim carey firing back at his conservative critics who took offense to his sendsup of the late charltonheston, he called them bullies and said good people will lose patience with these bullies. a threat from north korea at the west, in a state of war against south korea and an opportunity for concrete legislation on gun control may be slipping away. joining me now, david sis leanny of rhode island. you are on the foreign affairs committee. explain from your understanding how capable north korea is of carrying out their most extreme

threats and how seriously the u.s. is taking that from the north. >> well, thank you again for having me on. everyone recognizes this is an untested leader, very young and inexperienced who has not served in the military. so he's really trying to demonstrate his strength with the military. but obviously, it's a nuclear power and it's something we have to take seriously. i think the threat is obviously more serious to south korea in the region but united states has a responsibility of making sure our strategic interests are protected and national security of our country are protected and the united states is monitoring this closely. we don't know really what this leader of capable of doing. the danger is that a misstep or miscalculation or skirmish can result in something much more serious. >> as andrea mitchell pointed out, the fact that north korea mains this sealed type of country and we have a new and

untested leader that many don't know what he's capable of. he might want to flex a muscle to improve the generals never having served in any type of military service. what does that mean when we think of diplomatic channels and how those can be used? is it strictly that we would ask china to do something on our behalf? >> i think that the disappointing part is it suggests an unwillingness to engage in a serious way in solving issues on the korean peninsula. and i think we're going to have to look to the allies in the region and some of the long his electric in the region to play a role in helping to bring resolution to this relationship between south and north korea. but i think one of the dangers is this is a leader who may not well understand all of the implications of what he says and does both on the korean peninsula and rest of the world. i think we have to watch it closely and take it seriously and understand what's at stake.

but understand that this is -- has the potential to be a very serious situation. >> what's your assessment of the fact that the u.s. was willing to do the joint military exercise with the south, the military drills with the b2 stealth bombers? >> i think it was an important message to the ally in south korea to demonstrate to them as well as to north koreans that we stand with our ally and hopefully force the north korean leader kim jong-un to understand that this is not just a conflict between you and south korea, that the potential is much larger. >> i want to shift the focus back to the other big story we've been following, which is gun control in this country. the president stood alongside family members of newtown victims and other crime victims that have lost children when he had this to say. >> they are doing everything they can to make all of our progress collapse under the weight of fear and frustration or their assumption is that people will just forget about it.

>> right now do you think that based on where things stand on the hill and the appetite to do something for gun violence reform, has there been a missed opportunity for real action? >> i don't think there's been a missed opportunity. we have to take action. i think the president is absolutely right. we have seen these horrific shootings and everyone gets upset for a couple of weeks and says we need to do something then memories fade. this time it has to be different. we are fighting and we have to enact responsible gun safety legislation to reduce gun laws in this country. we lost 20 first grade children to gun violence at newtown. since newtown there have been more than 2200 gun deaths in america. we've got to do something about it. what the president and what i've sponsored and called for, universal background checks, eliminate these weapons of war, assault weapons of high capacity ammunition for the neighbors of our city and fix our background check system and be sure people are in the system so criminals

and those that are seriously mentally ill don't have access to firearms. these are common sense proposals to keep america safe. i respect and honor's people right to possess a firearm under the second amendment but these are common sense proposals that make sure the most dangerous criminals and people with serious mental illness don't have access to a firearm. >> the main place legislation could arrive from, the senate democratic side and the senators rand paul and four others, marco rubio, threatening a filibuster or any proposal for gun legislation and we know nothing will erupt from the house side. is it logical to think something will come? >> i think this is again an important moment for the american people to stay engaged in this fight. for members to be hearing from their constituents every day in the house and in the senate, and demand for responsible gun safety legislation to be enacted.

i think it is critical in this moment, we're at a very critical moment that members of the senate in particular hear from their constituents. most americans and even more gun owners favor most of these common sense proposals. we cannot let the power of the nra drown out the voices of ordinary americans who believe in common sense gun safety. i don't think we can give up. this is going to be a tough fight. nra has enormous power in washington, lobbying organize. but the american people have more power and we need to keep up the fight. >> sir, nice to see you again. >> nice to see you, thanks, thomas. >> the key arguments that could sway the supreme court's opinion on marriage equality next. deep, you'll never want to go back. its dynamic power bristles reach between teeth to remove up to 76% more plaque than sonic in hard to reach areas. oral-b deep sweep 5000 power brush. ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom.

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during the command performance sales event. this is the pursuit of perfection. it's delicious. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. [ robert ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. a new report says the cost of the wars will cost the taxpayers between 4 and $6 trillion, making them the most expensive conflicts in u.s. history. researchers at harvard say only 2 trillion has been paid. the balance of this bill will

come with the cost of disability care to wounded vets of those two wars. it could be june before we hear a historic ruling on the marriage equality cases being tackled by the supreme court. justices reviewing now arguments from both sides of the two big cases from last week. california's prop 8 law that prohibits same-sex marriage and the federal defensive marriage act, joining me today, richard wolf and jeffrey rosen, legal affairs editor for the new republic. richard, we had justice elaine that kagan read an excerpt on the federal defense of marriage act. >> i'm going to quote from the house report. congress decided to reflect an honor of collective moral judge the and to express moral disapproval of homosexuality. is that what happened in 1996?

>> we can hear the strong reaction that drew from inside the courtroom itself. was that a moment where it could be a reflection of the tipping point for the doma argument? >> yeah, it was a moment that could be a tipping point for the doma argument but only probably for four justices. i felt what was interesting the former solicitor general who pretty much did very well trying to defend doma, the first thing he said, does the house report say that? then said of course the house report says that. i think she sort of trapped him into showing there was a certain amount of -- when the law was passed at least on the part of some of the lawmakers passing it, rather than allowing him to say we're trying to get federal law straightened out as it appear takens to marriage. >> as this court is so concerned about states rights issues, don't they answer their own argument about the constitutionality of doma out of

the gate with that concern in mind? >> the state's rights issue is interesting because you have justice kennedy, who everybody knows in the middle on both of these issues saying that he would be inclined to throw doma out based on states rights, but then that could get him into a little bit of trouble on proposition 8. because on proposition 8, the state is expressing its will through the voters and he would have to say states rights apply to doma but not so much to prop 8. >> when we look at prop 8, the fact that the state gave the right to citizens first before then taking it away by putting it on a ballot but then that ballot has gone up through the court system to be ruled as unconstitutional, it is a quagmire to see where this is going to go. jeffrey, earlier i had a chance to speak to james essex, a member of the legal council for

edie windsor. >> i think he is going to say there is jurisdiction because the question, is there a fight between miss windsor and the united states that is sufficient to require the government -- the court to decide it? and it's very easy, they have her money and won't give it back. >> he believes the high court is on the verge of striking down doma. based on the arguments we've heard and coverage we've seen, is that an assessment that is likely? >> it does seem likely. there was an hour of discussion of whether the court should hear the case. chief justice roberts was very testy with the solicitor general saying, why doesn't the president have the courage not to enforce laws he thinks aren't constitutional? but justice kennedy seemed inclined to decide on the merits and very taken with the states rights arguments. he said this is unprecedented and interferes with 1100 federal

benefits and unprecedented interference with state autonomy and you better believe he's going to do something about it. >> let's go back to justice kennedy, often considered to be the swing vote, not just in this instance but in many, but his comments directly about the prop 8 arguments. >> the problem with the case is that you're really asking particularly because of the s estds you sight for to go in unchu unchartered waters. i wonder if the case is -- >> do they have the proper standing to be there before the court, scalia pointing out when asked saying that we've already crossed that river saying that they've got to move on them. does that in reference to prop 8 show kennedy looking for a way to minimize the scope of this ruling potentially, a way to

narrow it so it's not something like -- that this would be something in regard to prop 8 that would be very narrow focused to california and marriage equality? >> it very much does. that was extremely significant comment. you heard the i am patience in kennedy's voice, i don't know why we're hearing this case. it only takes four votes to hear a case before the supreme court. from what we can gather, the four conservatives voted to hear the case over the objection of the kennedy and five liberals and the question is whether the liberals won't do something unusual and say we were wrong to agree to hear the case to begin with, or else they could take the slightly broader approach and say there's no standing because california officials themselves are not defending the law and the agreed voters are not the right party to bring the case. either result would affirm the california court's ruling and allowing marriage to continue in california without imposing a broad rule on the entire nation. >> more to be coming our way at

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at the tulsa county health department in north tulsa. people lined out the door to be tested. these are all former patients of dentist scott harrington. he has closed down his office and voluntarily turned in his license to practice dentistry after officials here found unsanitary conditions. this started when a patient came down with hepatitis c and when health officials inspected his dental clinic they found out why. it was the perfect storm for the spread of infection. rusty equipment, reused needles and drug vials and one was 20 years old and personnel were administrating ivs for sedation without a license. some of the dental tools were soaked in bleach to sanitize them and dental officials say you're not supposed to do that because bleach will corps rode

dental tools. the dentist has surrendered his license and is cooperating with authorities. meanwhile, the first of 7,000, at least 7,000 patients are getting their test here today. they'll get the results in about two weeks, thomas. >> charles hadlock reporting for us, thanks so much. we have new word from south africa where former president nelson mandela is resting comfortably and able to breathe without problems, this statement released earlier. mandela has spent the last few days in the hospital being treated for a lung infection. he has been hospitalized three times in the last four months. mandela is 94 years old. in a developing story today, north korea has declared that it is now in a state of war with the south. it's just the latest threat from an increasing lly bol kim jong- that appeared to show an attack plan against the mainland u.s. joining me is gordon chang, it's

great to have you here. when we talk in direct reference to the rhetoric kicked back and forth, is this something more serious? >> it is bluster but we have to be concerned about these harsh words because they are coming at a time of disarray in the regime itself. remember kim jong-un has only been in power 15 or 16 months, in no time since 1949 has a north korean leader had a smaller base of support than kim jong-un. trying to change the nature of the regime. that's why we need to be concerned because things could get out of control. >> have we ever been this close to a conflict with the north before, especially given the fact that the south korean leader is new and might be testing her? >> there have been a number of pretty bad incidents since the end of the korean war. this one is different though because we have someone who

really is not steeped in the traditions of the kim regime. his father and grandfather were very good at provoking the international community and reach out and kill people but they knew where to draw the line. kim jong-un is inexperienced and has to worry about the generals he has to play to. a lot of things could go wrong. the other thing the south koreans after the two deadly provocations in 2010 where 50 people died, they are not willing to put up with anything from the north. that's another factor that is making this even more worse than it usually is. >> let's talk about the provokations in the past. there's a piece in the "new york times," the obama administration considers threats blustering and more worries about the regime itself, what it doesn't admit to, the recent cyber attack on the south and torpedo attack from three years ago. is this a distraction from what is potentially the real plan, quieter attacks?

>> the cyber attacks have been going on for quite a long time now from the north into the south. and so we can expect more of those as the north koreans ramp up their ability. the other thing, they can do other things like for instance they can set off bombs in south korea. they can have more provocations in the west sea, what we call the yellow sea. that's probable because every spring the north korean navy goes out there crabbing to support itself and go crabbing in south korea an waters. it's built in source of provocation. >> obviously this is all on the heels of the military exercises that we ran with south korea, b-2 stealth bombers. if diplomacy is the only option to try to settle the waters, is our american option the best form through china to get to pyongyang? >> the problem right now with china, you've also got an incomplete leadership transition, very push you you

lent. they've had long held pro pyongyang views. china is going to be difficult. we have a lot of economic leverage over the chinese. last year the trade surplus against the u.s. was 136.3% of the overall merchandise trade surplus, they were running deficits with the rest of the world to run a surplus against us. that gives us enormous leverage but only if we use it. >> great to have you here. i appreciate it. >> more comments from conservative politicians, how does the gop repair the damage to its tarnished image straight ahead. we understand. our financial advice is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. life brings obstacles. usaa brings retirement advice. try align. it's the number one ge recommended probiotic that helps maintain digestive balance. ♪

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susan and -- great to see all three here. we want to kick off with the supremes, the new front page "new york times" article that suggests conservatives on high court wanted to take up prop 8 because it would seem the conservative members are making a calculation that the chances of winning would not improve with time. do you think that's a cynical approach to looking at that? >> sure, i mean, of course that's a cynical approach. but i think the great irony here is that just the fact that the supreme court heard these cases has been the catalyst for what is the most incredible seat change on the social issue i've ever seen in such april short period of time. because the court was hearing these cases it gave rise to a number of democratic senators falling like dominos, saying, you know what, i have changed my mind. i've evolved on this issue. we saw an incredible amount of support on twitter and facebook,

people now finding out that friends are for gay marriage and they've changed their mind on marriage equality. it created a chance for a national conversation that revealed a significant more amount of support in this country than people knew even existed. whether they heard it or not, the fact they did hear it, i think has created a change that's not going to go back. >> as we look at the supreme court through a cynical political lens, we're really not supposed to, the court is supposed to be beyond politics, it sounds as if it were a political calculation on the court's part to take up these two cases, especially since both days they question the standing of of the cases being before them. >> i'm not sure what led to this decision. those records will come out in several years and we'll finally find out did they really think this was tbest time to hear the case or not. i have to stress again what patricia said, this has been such a great moment for marriage equality activists right now.

and it's almost as though we're seeing with rob portman the harvey milk strategy playing out. if you know someone who is gay and want to see them happy and wed, there is a public tide that's turning so much in favor of it, the supreme court would be concerned not to be on the right side of this. >> taking into account what we hear justice kennedy having concerns over the prop 8 question and how it got before them wondering how they took it up, is there a way to figure that out? it only takes four to make it appear, four justices to make it appear before them. >> well, it's better now than during a political election on the heels of a major loss. i think these justices are highly political given the situation with some of them that happened regarding gore v. bush. it's not an aha moment but duh

moment that people are the way they are and people love who they love. the fact that some of these senators are coming to the table because their children happen to be gay an they want to come out, i understand that. if you're under 50 years old, this is like, get over it. we have moved beyond this as we've moved beyond race issues in this country hopefully. i'm not giving this court any credit, i think it's cynical and con trifed because they want this out of the way before another election. >> it will be interesting in 1967 there was a unanimous decision that cleared the way for interracial marriage to become legal in this country. i don't think we'll see anything unanimous come our way in june but we can wait and watch. the other topic i want to move on to is this backlash with ben carson and don young, carson's comments own same-sex marriage that he made on fox news and republican congressman don

young's ethnic slur calling people wetbacks. they both apologized. but this is destructive when we have reince priebus coming out with the plan they are trying to reach out to minorities with the rnc and they have people that t representative of their brand that go around and say destructive things to the people that are listening. >> it's destructive and disturbing and has no place in our dialogue, in our political dialogue. that being said, there was a lot made of the rnc political autopsy. if these kinds of comments come out on the republican side, you're going to be reading the republican eulogy, meaning the party will be dead if it doesn't start opening it up to many more people. >> we keep calling it the rnc autopsy which says the party is dead after calling people an autopsy. a lot of people may not like hearing that. i want to move on to the fact that if these pr nightmares continue, is that susan's right

on her point that this is going to be the death nell. >> i think it's more a lobotomy than an autopsy. but, you know, listen, last week i said there are actions and deeds. i will replace that. it's not about what is written down. it's about actions and pleas. republicans have to move beyond words. get into action and deeds. stop worrying about misstatements and judgment but it was a lcobotomy. >> is that just the kind of thing that we see in public wherein private -- people come out and say this stuff publicly. someone that is revered for his intelligence and career as dr. ben carson and someone who has

been around as long as congressman young, what is going on behind closed doors that would make these guys think that they can publicly come out on radio and tv and throw these firebombs? >> well, i think these two gentlemen know that what they did was incredibly stupid and we hear a whole lot inside of the republican party saying we need to work on our messaging. if we can just change the way that they hear us say we can work with them. there's a big difference between messaging and prejudice. they want to know is it the republican party that is rearranging the debt but deeply prejudice against my group if i have latino, if i am guy, if approximate i am black? is this a party prejudice against me? it doesn't matter what they say except for when they are unguarded. i think that's the republican for the republican party. you cans have as many autopsies

as you want. but until you can get to the heart of the problem, they are not going to win the elections. coming up next, the big three. they pick the worst and the best of the wook after this. she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. no they don't. hey son. have fun tonight. ♪ ♪ back against the wall ♪ ain't nothin to me ♪ ain't nothin to me [ crowd murmurs ] hey! ♪ [ howls ] ♪ ( bull roar ) ...if you don't attend the running of the bulls.

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so we are back it with the big three. the best and worst? >> we want the marriage equality movement with the supreme court hearing these cases and poll numbers going up to 58% of people favoring legaling gay marriage, that's huge. worst week is really hope for any serious gun control measures passing the senate. again, you see now from 57 down to 47% of the people are behind really serious gun legislation. >> so morris, your worst and best? >> my worst is opponents to gay marriage. it is a bad week for them. my best goes to republic of congo. putting teeth into the mission on the ground to help support them. it's a big issue, thomas. we need to look at africa and what happens there, because we

spend money. it was a bit weak for the dchl rc and we'll see what happened. >> patricia, how about you? >> marriage equality activists and it looks like the each has changed a little. worst week goes to chief who oversaw a massive cheating scandal and just disgraceful. >> susan morris, patricia, thanks. that's going to do it for me. don't go anywhere. craig melvin is coming your way next. daddy, can we play ponies? right after we do foldies. tide boost is my tide. what's yours? ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor

about overactive bladder symptoms. [ female announcer ] know that gotta go feeling? ask your doctor about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents, for 24 hours. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma, or can not empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. get emergency medical help right away if your face, lips, throat or tongue swells. toviaz can cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness and decreased sweating. do not drive, operate machinery or do unsafe tasks until you know how toviaz affects you. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. talk to your doctor about toviaz.

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